


Now or Never (Yet We’ve Got Forever)

by justanothernobody



Category: DBSK | Tohoshinki | TVfXQ | TVXQ, K-pop
Genre: Alternate Universe - Afterlife, Alternate Universe - Angels, Alternate Universe - Fairy Tale, Alternate Universe - Supernatural Elements, Angel Wings, Angels, Everyone is Dead, Flowers, Happy Ending, Jesus is here, M/M, Reunions, Sugar sweet with only a pinch of sad, bouquet of flowers coz that’s how the original story went, okay so the tags are very deceiving but i promise this is just fluff, or at least his dad is?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-09
Updated: 2019-01-09
Packaged: 2019-08-19 06:14:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,474
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16528997
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/justanothernobody/pseuds/justanothernobody
Summary: Changmin dies at 27. Yunho’s just an angel sent to accompany him up to Heaven, or so he thought.(Heavily inspired by Hans Christian Andersen’sThe Angel)





	Now or Never (Yet We’ve Got Forever)

**Author's Note:**

  * For [kittylovesbambi](https://archiveofourown.org/users/kittylovesbambi/gifts).



> Okay so I know this isn’t a regular fairytale like Beauty and The Beast, or Sleeping Beauty, and whatnot but I chose this one simply because I feel like people think fairytale now is limited to the famous romance-filled ones. This one I found through some googling and I felt that the story is so sweet so I _had_ to use it.
> 
> Enjoy! And also, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

God has decided on many things when He started building His empire from the ground up.

 

He made the decision to create humans. Adam and Eve, He named them.

 

He made a home for those humans too. Earth, He called it, was made plentiful so it could accommodate humans to survive and populate.

 

Another one of those decisions He had made was the existence of angels.

 

Angels were tasked to carry the newly-dead souls up into heaven. But before those souls were to truly leave the mortal realm, a wish would be given to them. Some spent it on a prolonged time on Earth, others spent it on one last chance to be with their loved ones. They also must present an array of flowers to bloom in the garden of heaven. The flowers are to be handpicked by the dead man. Then after the wish is done and their time in the mortal realm is through comes purgatory, but that itself is a different story for another time.

 

So when Shim Changmin dies at 27, he gets the same treatment as anyone who passes away. An angel comes down to pick him up. He gets a wish to spend before he permanently goes.

 

“W-who are you?” He asks. The person, if he actually is one, looks at him with a soft smile. He takes in his features — almond eyes, a sharp jawline, pure white wings, and an ethereal glow surrounding him. There’s something very familiar about this man. He can’t pinpoint what, though.

 

“I’m Yunho.”

 

He touches his back for a mere second and he feels something sprout out of him — literally. As Yunho explains the situation he rubs at the white wings that just grew out of thin air. He tells him why he’s here, what he’s for, and then proceed to ask what he last desires for on Earth.

 

“I want to travel the world,” he states, “all around the globe.”

 

Per his request, the angel takes him everywhere. They visit Paris, with its gleaming lights and Eiffel Tower high up. They visit Rome, the exquisite taste of Italian wine never leaving his tongue. They visit Tokyo, the crowded Shibuya crossing pumping adrenaline throughout their systems. Many more cities are crossed off their to-go list and all of them leave Changmin with an impression he hopes he never forgets.

 

The flowers they collect add up after each trip. They’ve got an iris, a lily, some lavender, a marigold, a rose, a peony, and some cherry blossoms.

 

After flying throughout countries eventually comes their last night on Earth. Yunho brings him back to South Korea, back to its busy capital Seoul, back to where they had started.

 

“Where are we?” He inquires. They’re at a place quite familiar. It’s a bit far from where the hustle and bustle of the city is. There are apartment buildings placed side by side like dominos with a small alleyway in between. It looks rundown, probably inhabited by those of the middle class. Clothes are hung out on the balcony and some of them look on the verge of falling. The windows are dusty and are most likely left unopened. It smells vaguely of trash because they’re standing near a dumpster in the alley. Changmin thinks he’s allowed to be curious.

 

“Somewhere,” the older replies. His eyes stray to one specific balcony among the rest. It’s empty, he notes. Looks untouched — very dirty, puddles of water on the floor and dust stuck to every open space — it’s got a _for sale_ sign taped on the door leading out.

 

Amidst the artificial glow of street lamps surrounding them, Changmin thinks Yunho looks human. His bare face seems to have a warm hue to it, his cold hands feel hot against his own. He is reminded, though, by the non-beating pulse that stays as a constant. But he has it too, a dead heart in his body.

 

He thinks he might be in love with this man.

 

The dark night sky contrasts against the light in each home. It’s quite a sight — squares of brightness upon each other. Yunho doesn’t seem to focus on that, his focus shifts to the alley. He’s wondering why the elder is looking at a dumpster when said person walks in. He keeps on staring when Yunho rummages around the trash. What he’s searching for he has no clue of.

 

“Aha!” Yunho exclaims in delight. In his hands is a wilted sunflower stalk with roots still stuck to some soil. The pot itself is long broken and is now on the ground beside his feet. Changmin is more than quizzical toward the older boy.

 

“Is that going to go in our bouquet as well?” He inquires. He expects them to take the best of flowers only — after all, you present to God only the best of what mankind can offer. He comes near Changmin and hands him the sunflower. He inspects the plant closely. The flower looks barely alive; there are no petals left and the green of the stem is looking more like a dead brown.

 

Despite their disagreement about it Yunho insists they take it. He says, “It holds a story you have yet to know.” Changmin’s curios nature gets to him. He pleads the latter to tell him.

 

“A long time ago, there was a boy. A sick and lonely boy who was told he’d never live to more than 35,” he starts. Changmin is keen on listening so he keeps quiet to let the elder continue.

 

“And it was true — he died at a tender age of 25. His parents were devastated about his passing and in attempt to move on they moved away. They got rid of his belongings to make the loss hurt less. His clothes were given away to charity, his trinkets were sold, but his most beloved item was simply thrown away.”

 

Changmin asks, “What was it that he loved most?”

 

“It was this sunflower that he held closest to his heart.”

 

He glanced at the flower. It certainly seems ordinary, nothing too special to distinguish. He nods to let the Yunho continue.

 

“You see, this flower was gifted to him by another boy. A younger boy who is the only colour in his bleak world. In turn, the sickly boy too was special to him. The sunflower was handed two years before his passing as a birthday present.”

 

Yunho has a fond smile on his face. His gaze is soft towards Changmin and he can’t help but feel fluttery and enamoured.

 

“He took care of the flower to the best of his abilities. The sunflower the grew tall and proud even when its owner weakened in every passing hour.”

 

Changmin wonders, “What happened when the boy finally died?”

 

Yunho answers, “Well, the younger boy cried rivers with the knowledge of it. But he was also grateful for the chance of making the elder happy.”

 

His story ended there. It’s a simple tale and the younger of the two asks, “How do you know all this?”

 

“It is because I was that sickly boy, Changmin-ah.”

 

And suddenly memories flood his brain — the times of his childhood and far into his brief lifetime. He remembers a figure curled beside him, a constant presence in his day-to-day tasks, a gap in his mind that only Yunho can fit in.

 

He recalls a comforting voice, a hand grasping his, soothing fingers running through his hair, chapped lips sliding against his own, the pleasure as he gets filled in by wet heat, an embrace under the sheets after a night of lovemaking, and talks of a distant future they know they’ll never have.

 

“Yunho...”

 

The older looks greatly in love. His expression is filled with overflowing joy. He brings Changmin closer and locks him in his arms. Yunho tucks his face in his neck and Changmin clutches at his robes.

 

“Yunho-hyung,” he says over and over like its a litany. He’s on the verge of tears from the intense emotion he feels. Somewhere in between he sobs — sobs out an unending cry of happiness.

 

“I love you, Changdol-ah.”

 

“I love you too, hyung.”

 

Yunho pecks him on the forehead first. He uses his thumb to caress his cheeks and kisses his tears away. He presses in to the corner of his lips fully, a gentle touch upon his skin. He then kisses him full on the mouth. It’s heart-meltingly sweet and he tastes the longing in it. Their ivory wings wrap around them as if trapping them in its feathery grip. They part eventually but their faces stay close, breaths mingling with each other.

 

A heavenly beam cuts through the pitch-black sky. It falls upon them like a spotlight. Yunho steps back but still cradles Changmin’s face in his hands. He whispers against his lips,

 

“Let’s go home, Changminnie.”


End file.
